There are few topics more serious for the Legislature than determining the punishment for 17-year-olds who commit murder. Yet lawmakers in the current special session made this duty a lot harder than it should have been.

Previous state law required a sentence of life without parole for these youths because the U.S. Supreme Court said they couldn't be executed. But later the top court also outlawed life sentences for these teenagers.

Texas law already requires a sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 40 years for 14-to-16-year-olds convicted of murder. It shouldn't have been that hard to extend the same sentence to 17-year-olds, which is what lawmakers eventually did. But that was not until some lawmakers proposed parole after 25 years - again, when younger killers must serve 40 years.

Episodes like that happen seem to happen more often in special sessions, which is why they should be reserved for truly special issues.